Toxic Love
by Omegathyst
Summary: After Bucky runs away from home, Delilah is left to pick up the pieces of her past trauma and abuse from both Bucky and Fungo, but she is not alone. Her friends, past ones and new ones, guide her in a path towards healing, happiness, and letting go. Delilah's Love Trilogy #2
1. Aftermath

_The truth is, I was wrong._

_This love story was many of the things I said: Unnatural, freaky, weird. But to say it was sincere, or to even call it a love story in any regard, was a mistake. The actions that Bucky made before running away, were nothing short of toxic and abusive. He was no better than Fungo, worse even._

_Then there's Delilah, our main character. Assaulted by both Fungo and Bucky, lying unconscious on the latter's apartment floor…_

* * *

Delilah woke up, seeing the blood on her chest, and screamed.

Fungo was back on his feet, as was Satchel. Both of them ran to her side, propping her back on her feet.

"Told ya you should've let me beat the shit out of him." Fungo huffed.

"Don't fucking touch me." Delilah stumbled backwards. "You would've forced yourself on me if it weren't for Bucky, b-but I just…"

**"Wait."** Satchel looked at his friend. _"You tried to force yourself on her?"_

"It was a misunderstanding!" Fungo snapped. "We've lived together for years, I helped her through all her hard times, I just thought-"

"That she owed you a relationship?" Satchel growled. "Get the hell out of here, Fungo. Our friendship is over."

"C'mon Delilah, let's get out of here." Fungo reached for Delilah's arm, but Delilah jumped to Satchel's side.

"N-No, I can't spend another day with you. You make my life hell, Fungo." Delilah whimpered. "I'll tell our owners the same thing if you try to tell them to get me back. I never want to see you again."

Fungo was seething as Satchel put his arm around Delilah's shoulders in a comforting gesture. The ferret turned around and stormed out the door. Once he left, Delilah turned to face Satchel with wide red eyes.

"I have no idea where to stay!" Delilah gasped.

"You can stay with me, or Atari if you don't trust my presence." Satchel frowned. "I tried to pressure Bucky to be with you, and I almost hit him."

"It's okay, it's over now." Delilah patted Satchel's leg.

"Perhaps being with Bucky all the time brought out the worst in me." Satchel admitted. "I mean, me and Atari just wanted to make you happy."

Speaking of Atari, the Russian Blue cat ran into the room in a sweat, her pregnant belly swinging from side to side.

"I came here as soon as I could." Atari panted. "Where is that bastard?!"

"He took off, we don't know where he went." Delilah replied, her eyes welling up with tears. "Atari, I don't want you to look for him. He t-threw me against the wall, he _scratched_ me, **_hit_** me. I can't, I can't, I can't-"

"I won't let him near you, and me and Mac will avoid him whenever possible." Atari promised. "You can stay with me if you'd like. Unless Fungo-"

"I don't live with Fungo anymore, he hurt me as well." Delilah looked at the ground. "I can't risk going out there tonight, I need to stay here."

"I understand." Atari walked to Delilah's side and pressed her muzzle against the ferret's shoulder. "I'll stay here with you, if that's okay. I just need to let Donna and Mac know, I'll be back before you know it."

Atari ran out the door, leaving Satchel and Delilah.

"I can't believe I let those two treat me like that!" Delilah sobbed, burying her face in her paws. "I can't believe I _put up_ with that!"

"I'm very sorry, Delilah." Satchel scooped Delilah in his arms and gently placed her on the couch. "I'll go get you a blanket and pillows."

Just as Satchel was about to leave, the door creaked open as Rob returned. He froze, taking in the scene of Satchel taking care of a ferret with bloody scratches.

"Where's Bucky?" Rob asked.

"Oh boy." Satchel sighed. "He and Fungo really took things too far, Rob. Fungo tried to force Delilah to be his mate, and he threatened that we'd beat Bucky up. Bucky lost it and attacked all of us, and then he ran off."

"Oh God." Rob closed his eyes, pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose. "Okay, I'm going to lock the door-"

"I'm back, Donna says it's cool!" Atari ran past Rob, glancing back at him. "I'm going to stay with Delilah."

"Alright, _now_ I'll lock the door." Rob closed the door, locking it. "I love Bucky, but I can't keep doing this shit. If he comes back, I'm taking him to see professional help. So don't worry Delilah, _you're safe."_

The two words sent a lightning bolt through the clouds of Delilah's vision, giving her a clarity that she hadn't felt in so long. She breathed clearly, allowing Rob to tend to the scratches on her belly. Satchel returned with several blankets and a pillow, and Atari jumped on the couch, maneuvering Satchel's items onto Delilah.

"You don't have to do that, you got kits coming." Delilah protested as Atari nudged the pillow underneath her head.

"So what, I can't operate with a pregnant belly?" Atari laughed. "Didn't you see me bolt in here earlier?"

"Yeah I did, sorry for doubting you." Delilah attempted to laugh, but she felt like all the thoughts and feelings in her brain were a puzzle, and Bucky and Fungo broke the puzzle into pieces.

She just had to put the puzzle pieces back together.

"I love you, Delilah. In the pure, generous way that you deserve." Atari plopped on the couch next to her, wrapping herself in blanket. "I care about you, and so does Satchel, Rob, Donna, Mac, Chubby, his sister, and more creatures than you can count. Those two can't hurt you no more."

"I feel bad for w-writing the letters, and coming back, and-"

_"Shh."_ Atari's tail covered Delilah's mouth. "You need to forgive yourself and learn from this, Delilah. More importantly, you deserve a good rest."

Atari moved her tail, running it down Delilah's side in a therapeutic way, repeating the same movement until Delilah succumbed to a peaceful sleep.


	2. Injured

When Delilah woke up, she felt ill and well-rested at the same time, her waking thoughts like a furious colony of bees around a hive. She was facing Atari, who was still in deep sleep.

She barely propped her head off the couch, scanning the room for any sign of Bucky. Nothing, thank God.

Instead of Bucky's fresh scent, Delilah smelled a delicious tang that was new to her. She began salivating instinctively, steadily falling off the couch like a slinky and darting to the source of the smell.

It was Rob in the kitchen, tossing strips of bacon on a pan. To his left were two separate bags of said bacon, _how much bacon was he making?_

"One bag is the regular bacon for you guys, and the other bag is_ facon,_ if you will." Rob explained. "I don't eat meat."

"Oh?" The thought of any creature not indulging in meat's juicy flavors was beyond Delilah's comprehension. "Well, I appreciate it."

"Huh, only heard that kind of gratitude from Satchel." Rob huffed. "I can get an appointment set up for you from the same agency as Satchel, if you'd like."

"Appointment for what?" Delilah tilted her head.

"Therapy." Rob replied, staring at the sizzling bacon on the pan.

"What is that?" Delilah asked.

"It's to help with trauma, and other psychological stuff." Rob explained. "It'll help you work through bad memories."

"Oh, that sounds helpful." Delilah grinned. "That'd be great, Rob."

_"Ah shiet,_ is that bacon I smell?" Atari waddled into the room. "I suppose I could go for a piece or two before I return to my family."

_Family. _Delilah had heard that word many times, but it never belonged to her like it belonged to most creatures. Her owners fed her, spent time with her, kissed her forehead goodnight, but she wasn't stupid. Fungo was always their favorite.

Satchel walked in, joining Delilah and Atari at the table. He struggled onto the chair and slumped his head on the table as soon as he got on, paws outstretched.

"Hey Delilah...how're you holding up?" Satchel asked.

"I'm a little better than yesterday." Delilah admitted. "I'm just kinda hungry and antsy. Is bacon all you're making, Rob?"

"Don't worry, I have dog food, cat food, and ferret food for when Fungo used to visit." Rob said. Satchel grimaced. "I'll serve that as the main dish."

Rob flipped the real bacon onto three plates, and scooped the respective main dishes onto the plate for each of his animal roommates.

Delilah thanked Rob as he handed her breakfast, leaning to take a bite…

_"I'm going to_**_ fucking_**_ kill you, Bucky!"_

Right after Delilah heard that shout, she heard several loud knocks on the door, endless one after another. It wasn't Fungo, she realized that after a hot second. So, how many pets had it in for Bucky?

"Who did he piss off this time?" Rob groaned, turning off the stove.

He headed for the door, slightly opening it to reveal a riled pale brown cat. A_ chubby _one.

"Chubby?" Rob gasped. "Bucky's not here, what's going on?"

_"He tried to kill my sister!"_ Chubby screeched. "He slashed his claws down her precious belly, and she was drooling unconscious. My owners took her and the kittens to the vet, and now I'm trying to find that son of a bitch."

"Shadow?" Atari jumped off the table and stood by Rob_. "Oh no._ I'm going to ask Donna if we can visit. Oh my God, _not my best friend!"_

"I'll go too." Delilah decided.

_"No,_ sweetpea. You should recoup from what happened yesterday." Atari frowned. "Seeing another victim of Bucky might be too much for you. Not to mention, Bucky's on the loose. He could be_ anywhere."_

"I think we need to be with each other during this." Delilah said. "Let me go with you guys."

"Alright, but _don't_ leave my side. I ain't letting anyone hurt you." Atari turned to Chubby. "Is it okay if we visit?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm really sorry, Delilah." Chubby sighed. "I'm sorry that he came into my life, and yours. How did you meet that sack of shit anyway?"

Delilah froze like a bone in place, remembering the website that she was on. It was a safe haven for pets everywhere to vent their problems:** _Pets Anonymous. _**She remembered the username and vague profile info she put, but Bucky didn't understand what anonymous meant, and he used a username called **Buckykatt420.**

* * *

It started with them talking from time to time in the forums. Bucky would ramble about the flaws of his roommates, and Delilah would talk about her complicated friendship with Fungo, or whatever TV show her owners were watching. Other pets would put their thoughts as well in the forums, but Bucky PM'd her, telling her she had a pretty name.

Her username was **Forlornheart69**, but she had mentioned her real name once in the forums. When Bucky sent her that private message, she could feel the warm streams of infatuation crashing over her shoulders and making their way into her heart. Was there more to this than just a pair of anonymous pals?

Eventually, she messaged him about where he lived. Her heart leaped above the clouds when he stated the exact apartment floor that she lived in. _It's practically meant to be!_

She mentioned him to Fungo, and his nose curled up in disgust.

_"You know he hates ferrets, right?"_

Delilah hoped that this was just another one of Fungo's exaggerations; a fruitless attempt to keep her all for himself. But she got on the website later that day, asking Bucky what he thought of ferrets.

The answer was loaded with curse words, speaking of dastardly ways that he'd want to execute every ferret imaginable. He even mentioned a ferret on his apartment floor that kept hanging out with his roommate.

_Was...was it Fungo?_

Delilah was relieved that she hadn't told Bucky that she lived on the same floor as him, cause what then? He'd be begging to see her in person, and it'd only end horribly.

Right? But what if true love prevailed and changed him for the better? Perhaps falling in love with a ferret would change his perspective! But the forums wouldn't work, for Bucky already knew her name amongst other details. What would work….

_A letter!_

* * *

"And that's how I started sending letters to him." Delilah confessed, looking at Chubby and Atari. "I already knew what he looked like from Fungo's stories about him, and I knew where he lived from Fungo's hangouts with Satchel. I should've stopped talking to him as s-soon as he said those horrendous things about ferrets!"

"Maybe, but it sounds like you had good intentions." Chubby patted Delilah's shoulder. "You can't go into a relationship expecting to change someone though, my sis knows that better than anyone."

"Speaking of which, we should all go to Donna's and see if she'll take us to see her." Rob opened the door for Atari, allowing her and Chubby to leave.

"You coming, Rob?" Delilah asked.

"Nah, I'm going to stay with Satchel." Rob then disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a white box. "Here's some of your breakfast for the road."

"Thank you." Delilah smiled.

Rob smiled back, leaning over and gently rubbing the ferret's head with his thumb.

"Stay safe, Delilah." Rob told her.

Delilah nodded and walked out the door, following the two cats to another adventure in her life without Bucky and Fungo.


End file.
